Day 3 - Gualala to Cresent City, CA

By Jim

Day 3 started with hot scones and lattes in Gualala—a nice warm-up before pointing our bikes into the cold mist of the northern California coast. There were more twisties, of course, hundreds of ‘em, but with more variety than yesterday. First we ran up and down the coast several times—from sea level to maybe a thousand feet up and back—then inland some 30 miles through elevated ranch country, before coasting and braking our way back down to the ocean.

At mid-morning the road spiraled inward and upward, up, up, into the mighty redwood groves. The temps went up, up as well, and soon we were shedding leathers for t-shirts and lighter gloves, as we sped inland towards the site of California’s famous Chandelier Tree, aka the “drive-thru” tree. Nearly 300 feet tall and at least ten feet wide at the base, the old giant was already 400 years old when Jesus walked the earth.

We paused for the requisite pics—PG standing in the tunnel, pretending to hold up the tree; me posing for a photo in the same spot where I stood for one 38 years ago—and then headed up the nearby Highway 101, straight into another grove. No road crew on earth can clear trees this big, so the asphalt simply snakes between the red giants. Riding through it produces a certain Stuart Little effect that renders big old Harleys nothing more than a little boy’s toys.

After lunch in Garberville (look it up) we spent the rest of the day alternating between 70-mph highways and two-lane mountain slaloms, including one through elk country. We saw a couple of bucks on the side of the road that made our Florida deer look like antlered puppies.

The day finally ended back on the ocean shore at Crescent City, where we slept hard at the beautiful Lighthouse Inn. After supper we walked the nearby piers, chatting with local fishermen, and watching the seals at play, while an orange sun sank into the silver Pacific. It was like getting God’s autograph.